Police are investigating the discovery of eight firearms at the Belmont Police Station on Monday which could not be immediately accounted for.Assistant Commissioner of Police Richard Smith told the Express yesterday that the firearms are believed to be court exhibits linked to ongoing criminal matters.They were discovered after officers gained access to a previously locked office at the station.
INVESTIGATING:ACP Richard Smith
Smith said the room had previously been used as a gym before it was converted into an office.He said investigators sought access to the room after learning that no one at the station had a key. However, officers eventually obtained a key from an inspector, allowing them to open the office.“When we checked there were eight exhibit guns...connected to ongoing cases currently in process,” Smith said.He said investigators were working to identify the complainants in the matters connected to the firearms as part of the ongoing investigation.Smith also dismissed reports circulating on social media that a police sergeant had been detained or that officers’ homes had been searched during the operation.He said no sergeant had been detained as a suspect and no police officer was in custody.Smith also denied reports that a sergeant had fled the country. “This talk about a sergeant fleeing is not true,” he said.According to Smith, the officer being referred to in those reports was not a sergeant and had been granted approved vacation leave before investigators entered the office.He said the officer had also received the Commissioner’s permission to travel outside Trinidad and Tobago before the operation took place.Smith said the investigation remained ongoing and should investigators uncover evidence that any officer had breached the Police Service’s regulations, appropriate action would be taken.“If by any stretch anything is found which goes against our regulations, then we will deal with it accordingly,” he said.Sources close to the investigation told the Express that seven police officers were questioned.It was said that after the exhibits were discovered, officials from the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) were contacted and visited the station.During the operation, the Port of Spain unit’s office was searched for items of evidential value which included cash, narcotics, arms and ammunition.The PSB is tasked with internally investigating officers who are allegedly involved in criminal acts or breaches of discipline.Sources said the seven officers initially detained for questioning were later allowed to leave pending further investigations.A senior police source confirmed that investigators are working to trace the exhibits seized during the operation.“We are trying to ascertain the origins of the items found. Whether they are actually exhibits from ongoing court matters that were never lodged, or items found or exhibits from completed cases that are yet to be submitted to the property keeper,” one source said.
